Chapter 63: Refining Furnace True Qi

These demon beasts had weak magical power, but their physical bodies were extremely strong. Passing through the Heaven-Burning Fire Array, blazing flames struck them. Though the sizzling sounds never stopped, these demon beasts did not pause even for a moment. They directly pounced on the Five Yin Patriarch!

Amid the roars of a winged flying dragon, its sharp claws were like blades. A white tiger screeched, and a lizard coiled around. They all exerted force. A powerful collision occurred. Even though the Five Yin Patriarch was formidable, he was too busy to move freely. Several fierce demon beasts grabbed his arms, tearing and pulling. Immediately, a large wound was torn open, and a sparkling, brilliant liquid flowed out!

This liquid resembled blood but was not blood. It had a dull gray color. Exposed to the air and roasted by the surrounding true fire, it emitted thousands of radiant lights before finally dissipating!

The Five Yin Patriarch cried out in pain. His eyes flashed with lightning, and black thunder surged wildly. Under this thunderous light, these once mighty ancient demon beasts were completely annihilated, exploding into masses of minced flesh and blood. Mu Yuan exclaimed with regret!

Seizing the opportunity, Old Daoist Danhuo struck with his sword, leaving a deep wound on the Five Yin Patriarch’s body. The Five Yin Patriarch roared repeatedly, sweeping vast amounts of zhenqi around in all directions. He spat out a ball of essence, and his entire body erupted with infinite radiance, wrapping around himself. The surrounding true fire retreated in all directions. Sword qi crisscrossed, and the light burst forth, dazzling and overwhelming. Those outside the array could not see clearly, only hearing a series of loud crashing noises. The Heaven-Burning Fire Soul Banners fluttered incessantly. Then, a sharp, long shriek was heard. When they looked again, the array was empty, leaving only flames. The Five Yin Patriarch had disappeared without a trace!

Old Daoist Danhuo’s expression turned grave. He waved his hand and retrieved the array soul banners. Only then did Mu Yuan and the others see a severed arm left on the ground, which gradually dissolved into countless talismanic scripts and vanished!

“I never expected this demon daoist to have such divine ability, actually using such a technique to escape the array!”

Mu Yuan remained silent. Now that the array had been withdrawn, the surrounding spiritual energy poured back in. His zhenqi gradually replenished, and he felt very happy inside. After all, he had obtained the Forge Furnace Art, and Xiao Tianyu had not escaped the Demon Refining Gourd. Everything was too perfect!

Everyone exited the stone chamber. The earth-shattering noise inside had already awakened the Saber-Toothed Drake, which was growling low outside the stone chamber but could not break in. After all, the seal set by the Five Yin Patriarch was not something just anyone could easily enter.

Old Daoist Danhuo casually released a bright, glowing sphere, sucking the Saber-Toothed Drake’s massive body into it and then tossing it into his sleeve, all without any effort. Mu Yuan and the others were stunned.

After surfacing from the lake, everyone bid farewell, expressing gratitude to Old Daoist Danhuo. The monks Yuan Jue and Yuan Neng still coveted the Mantra of Universal Illumination in Mu Yuan’s hands but felt it inappropriate to say so directly. Yuan Jue clasped his hands and said, “If you have time in the future, benefactor, please visit our temple. Our temple will surely treat you as an honored guest!”

Before Mu Yuan could speak, Old Daoist Danhuo laughed and said, “I have long heard that the Great Sun Divine Sect’s true fire path is unmatched in the world, cultivating the Great Sun True Fire, surpassing any other fire path technique. I have admired it for a long time!”

Mu Yuan’s heart stirred. He thought to himself that if he really could not collect the fire path Nirvana divine art or fire path magical treasures, he could instead acquire the Great Sun Divine Sect’s techniques as a substitute. He immediately smiled and said, “Thank you, both masters. I will definitely visit in the future!”

Yuan Neng and Yuan Jue were overjoyed and exchanged a few more words before leaving.

The Huan Chen sisters also thanked Old Daoist Danhuo and left on their swords. Old Daoist Danhuo smiled at Mu Yuan and praised, “I didn’t know you had such divine ability, even able to break the opponent’s seal!”

Mu Yuan smiled slightly and said, “That was also thanks to you, senior. Otherwise, even if I had ten times the power, it would have been useless!”

Old Daoist Danhuo turned to Hua Xin and scolded, “Now you understand how dangerous it is. Don’t rush forward every time you hear about demon beasts running amok. Mu Yuan, with his cultivation, knows to be humble, yet you still don’t understand the risks! This time, if not for Mu Yuan breaking the seal from inside, even I would have been helpless!”

Hua Xin merely gave a dry laugh, but in his heart, he was unconvinced. Old Daoist Danhuo naturally knew his disciple’s temperament and let it go, not continuing the scolding.

After returning to the inn, Hua Xin, Jin Yun, and Mu Yuan all quietly regulated their primordial qi. The short time inside the Demon Refining Gourd had left the three of them extremely weak. Qi Wei, however, remained unmoved, still practicing qi refinement, which amazed Mu Yuan.

Sitting on the bed, Mu Yuan quietly adjusted the zhenqi inside his body, but his spiritual sense immersed itself in the newly acquired Forge Furnace Art. Its words spoke of the earth’s profound virtue, bearing all things, like the sea accepting all rivers. Countless mental techniques were melted together in one furnace.

“The sky is tall and vast, the earth is thick and boundless. Heaven and earth are the furnace, creation is the craftsman, yin and yang are the charcoal, all things are the copper. The earth’s nature holds profound virtue, capable of bearing everything. Thus, the Forge Furnace Art is the foundation of the Five Elements Path…”

After reading it once, Mu Yuan indeed found it exquisite. A continuous, heavy, thick yellow earth qi rose from the ground, traveled up his ankles, circulated through his meridians, and finally transformed into Refining Furnace True Qi, settling into his dantian. Mu Yuan felt his entire body become heavy and solid in an instant. Every movement felt as if bearing immense weight.

In his dantian, the Longevity True Qi and Tide True Qi, upon encountering the Refining Furnace True Qi, immediately merged like water, blending into it. The three intertwined, instantly presenting a vast scene of heaven and earth—wild and endless, with dense trees and lush leaves, lakes and oceans resting upon it, stretching into an unknown distance shrouded in a layer of mist.

The Dragon King’s Dynamic Force had already merged with the Longevity True Qi but was now repelled. However, after prolonged contact with the Refining Furnace True Qi, it also showed a tendency to merge. Mu Yuan hurriedly raised his zhenqi, and the Dragon King’s Dynamic Force immediately turned into a purple mist floating above, not continuing to blend.

“The Forge Furnace Art is indeed the key to Five Elements Elixir Formation. Originally, with water and wood engendering each other, no other state was visible. If fire and water path techniques settled in the dantian, they would collide immediately, causing the body to explode and die. Now, it should be fine!”

Mu Yuan sensed the changes inside. The Tide True Qi slowly condensed into water droplets, while the Longevity True Qi transformed into clusters of trees. Everything took spiritual form, much more concrete than the previously vague zhenqi.

Mu Yuan had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer. His meridians were unobstructed, and his acupoints were refined. Now, he only needed to disperse the newly cultivated Refining Furnace True Qi into his meridians and acupoints, which was much faster. After practicing for only half a day in the inn, the Refining Furnace True Qi in his dantian was already extremely abundant. Through daily regulation on the journey, in just half a month, he had advanced the Forge Furnace Art to the third layer!

“Now, I only need to condense evil energy and gather pure yang energy, then find the complete metal and fire path techniques to form the elixir and prolong life. As for the techniques after elixir formation, I can find a way later. There’s no rush now.”

In Mu Yuan’s heart, once the elixir was formed, matters of the future could be slowly pursued. Although the Forge Furnace Art currently only reached elixir formation, it was already sufficient for use.

After cultivating the Forge Furnace Art, one day on the road, Mu Yuan suddenly asked Old Daoist Danhuo about the Great Sun Divine Sect. Old Daoist Danhuo explained with a smile, “The Great Sun Divine Sect was founded by a Buddha. It is said this Buddha originated from the golden crow divine bird within the sun. The Great Sun True Fire Art he cultivated was the foremost true fire in the world, unparalleled across all realms. Later, he further refined Buddhist supernatural power, making him immeasurable.”

“Great Sun True Fire, the foremost in the world!”

Mu Yuan’s thoughts stirred slightly, and he continued to ask, “Senior, have you heard of Tianhuo Zhenren and Huang Hua Zhenren?”

Old Daoist Danhuo smiled slightly and said, “You’re referring to the fire path successors from the same origin as your Longevity Palace. I have witnessed the divine ability of the Southern Fire Path. Although exquisite, it still falls short of the Great Sun True Fire’s domineering and matchless power!”

“Oh!” Mu Yuan nodded, feeling somewhat downcast. After all, they shared the same origin, so hearing this still made him a bit disappointed.

“You needn’t be like this. You should know that the Great Sun Divine Fire specializes in one path, while the Five Elements Path once encompassed all five elements. As they say, different trades have different specialties. If it couldn’t surpass the Nirvana True Fire, that Buddha would be unworthy of being called the sun’s essence!”

Qi Wei listened to their conversation, her mind thoughtful. When they rested in the evening, she suddenly approached Mu Yuan to inquire about the daytime matters.

“Since you’ve already obtained the Tidal Flow, the mutual generation of water and wood is acceptable and greatly benefits our sect’s cultivation. But the Nirvana Art conflicts with both the Longevity Art and the Tidal Flow. Why are you asking about this?”

The Nirvana Art was the Southern Bright Leaving Fire, while the Tidal Flow was the Northern Sea’s Kan Water. The principle of water and fire being incompatible is naturally easy to understand. Moreover, wood can generate fire. If you cultivate the Nirvana Art, your body’s Longevity True Qi could be completely burned by even a small amount of Nirvana fire qi. At best, perhaps all the Longevity True Qi could transform into Nirvana True Qi. In the worst case, you might be directly reduced to ashes. Qi Wei knew this, which was why she came to ask.

Mu Yuan smiled, not minding at all. “I was just curious and asked casually. I had no other intentions.”

Qi Wei’s beautiful eyes flickered slightly. Suddenly, she said, “I am following my master’s orders to condense evil energy with you. I only hope the journey remains safe. Please don’t act recklessly like last time. If something happens, it will be hard for me to explain.”

Mu Yuan felt a sudden irritation and said indifferently, “There’s no need for you to worry about this, senior sister. I know what I’m doing.”

Seeing Mu Yuan’s expression turn cold, Qi Wei stood up and walked out of the room. As she left, she said, “That’s for the best.”